problem solving By Katy

I teach one problem solving strategy at a time and everyone needs to use that strategy to solve the problem so they get practice with it. Drawing a picture is one strategy. There are also: looking for a pattern, making an organized list, making a table, choosing an equation, etc. After children learn the different strategies, when they get a word problem they are better equiped to solve it. I try to teach my students the difference between a problem-solving strategy and a computational strategy. I want children to understand that if they are solving 36 + 28, they don't have to draw 36 circles and 28 circles but they could still use the draw a picture strategy. They can draw base ten blocks.